Very much a Gryffindor
by XioTonks
Summary: Minerva's life after she has come to teach at Hogwarts. Told by her house-elf Tilly. Still don't know to which pairing this will lead me. Some femslash in there! See inside for more information. This story is on hiatus at the moment
1. Chapter 1

**Title**: Very Much A Gryffindor**  
Summary**: Minerva's life after she has come to teach at Hogwarts, told by her house-elf Tilly. This will be ADMM eventually but there is also some femmeslash.  
**Disclaimer:** They aren't mine but JKR's, neither do I intend to make money with them. I just want to play with them for a while.  
**  
AN**: Cheers everyone! I posted this on the ADMM board about a year ago, absolutely sure that it was to become ADMM eventually (explains the place, doesn't it?). I had it all planned out till the end, made kinda schedule to not confuse the years or anything. And you know what? Of yourse it started a life of its own. I hate them when they do that! Anyway. I don't know if this is still meant to be ADMM. Somehow that wouldn not fit with the deep and caring friendship they have. So I'll see where it takes me. I will let it take the lead and see what comes out of it at the end. Maybe Tilly and her will get together in the end. No sorry, that was a joke. A bad one I might add. So just read and enjoy, will you? By the way... a few reviews would be nice, too ;).

Dear Reader!

May I introduce myself? I'm Tilly. Tilly, the house-elf. I work at Hogwarts School for Witchcraft and Wizardry. We house-elves are here to cook, to clean and, in special cases like mine, to be a personal servant for some of the more important people; The headmaster perhaps or one of the heads of the four houses. I am the servant of deputy headmistress and head of Gryffindor house, Minerva McGonagall. The life of a house-elf is usually very boring, even here at Hogwarts where we are pretty much free to do what we want as long as we get our work done properly. Nonetheless, our life always follows the same routine: cleaning, preparing meals, eating and sleeping when we have time to do so. We don't complain. Well at least most of us do not complain. There's young Dobby down in the kitchens. He used to work at Malfoy manor. Poor one! The Malfoys treat our kind even worse then most of the cruellest pureblood families. Anyway, now Dobby works here at Hogwarts and he even gets paid by the headmaster. I don't blame him, though most of the older elves do, saying he's a shame for our kind. But I think that if the youth is able to change the conditions some of us work under, they should! Life's not easy for a house-elf in a family like the Malfoys.

But this is not what I wanted to tell you!

As I said earlier I'm working for deputy headmistress McGonagall. So I'm one of the few who don't have to fix the mess that the students make in their dorms and common rooms, but rather serve a master, who are a lot tidier than the teenagers. There are only five of us, who do this special work: one elf for the headmaster, one (myself) for his deputy and head of Gryffindor house and then one for each of the other three heads. But unlike my colleagues, I have a story to tell!

It started all in the year Professor Dumbledore defeated the black wizard Grindelwald, 1945. Grindelwald reigned over Europe from 1939 until 1945, when Dumbledore killed him. If you are familiar with non-magical politics, you might notice that this is also the time of World War II. Because of these two wars in 1945, Hogwarts was three members of the staff short at the end of the year. The headmaster, Armando Dippet, was killed when he fought next to his friend Dumbledore in the final battle against Grindelwald. The Hogwarts mediwitch died while working in a field hospital and the third, Professor Zukerman, choose to quit so she could raise her two nieces, who had fled from Nazi Germany because of being Jewish.

It was only natural that Dumbledore, who had been deputy before Dippet's death, would become headmaster and so Hogwarts needed a new mediwitch, a new teacher for Herbology and last but not least, a Transfiguration instructor and a deputy for Dumbledore. In the winter vacation of 1945, the headmaster called me to his office in order for me to meet my new master – or mistress as I had to correct myself only seconds later: Transfiguration instructor Minerva McGonagall. The former Beauxbatons attendant had achieved an Outstanding in all of her N.E.W.T. exams, fought in the final battle alongside Dumbledore and Dippet, and was already known as one of the most powerful witches the world had ever seen, possibly even surpassing Rowena Ravenclaw. I rarely call human beings beautiful, but McGonagall was really that: beautiful. She was not only pretty, with long black hair that almost reached her waist, a slim figure and smooth looking light skin, but from her every pore radiated power and her flashing emerald green eyes betrayed an intelligence even most so-called geniuses could only dream of. And – heaven forgive me for suggesting something like this – apparently the headmaster liked her too, because his eyes, even when he spoke to someone else, never left her and they revealed admiration and something soft. It was not difficult to see that he cared deeply for her. And maybe, maybe his eyes showed on that cold day in December that this woman would become as important to him as she would become to the world, to the school, and to the students who lived within.

Professor McGonagall moved into the castle two days before Christmas. The headmaster had offered that she could wait until January, but she refused to spend the holidays at her family home and two days after I had first met her, she had all her things in her new flat near Gryffindor tower. When new teachers who didn't study at Hogwarts are accepted to teach here, they have to get sorted. Normally this rite is a very private thing with only the teacher in question, the headmaster, his deputy and of course, the Sorting Hat present. At the time McGonagall was sorted the board of governors had yet to name a deputy and so it would have been only McGonagall and Dumbledore present, but there was something else. This is the first place where I want you to have a closer look into my memory.

_ The little house-elf hurried through the deserted entrance hall. His mistress had told him to go to her old family home to bring a few things she had forgotten when she went to Hogwarts and it had taken him longer than expected. The bag with his mistress' possessions in one hand, he snapped the fingers of the other and __Apparated__ to the professor's office. When he arrived, he was surprised to see the headmaster leaning against Minerva McGonagall's desk and McGonagall herself sitting in the middle of the room, deep in a silent conversation with the worn-out looking hat that sat upon her long black hair. This hat, the elf knew, was momentarily looking into McGonagall's heart and soul to sort her into one of the four houses. He took a step forward, making his presence known, but the headmaster laid a finger upon his lips and indicated that the little elf should stay, but wait quietly so as not to disturb the woman and the Sorting Hat. He obeyed and watched the scene in front of him. By now McGonagall seemed to have developed an argument with the hat, because she looked very and was angry moving her lips rapidly. Suddenly the hat said something and she fell silent, her face turning the __colour__ of ashes. Both stayed silent for some time, while tears ran down McGonagall's face._

_"Headmaster?" the hat spoke aloud and Dumbledore rose from his waiting position. "I think, I've decided that this young lady is very much a Gryffindor!"_

_Dumbledore nodded while McGonagall sat motionlessly on her chair, staring into space with tear flooded eyes. _

_"Is there anything else?" the headmaster asked quietly, eyes lingering not on the worn out __hat__ to whom he was speaking, but on the woman, who seemed now oblivious to everything that was happening around her. _

_The hat hesitated a moment before answering, "No. __If you could bring me back to your office, please?"_

_"I'd rather not leave Minerva alone now..." Dumbledore said slowly, watching her, but nonetheless taking the hat from McGonagall's head. _

_"It's okay, __Albus__, I'm fine!" she said huskily, awakened from her dreamlike state__"Really?" he asked, looking unconvinced._

_"I think I'll call it a day and retire to bed," she said, gesturing to the already dark sky behind the windowpanes._

_"Very well then..." __Dumbledore said, slowly turning towards the doors, the hat in his hands, "Good night my dear!"__ And with a last worried look he left._

_"__Ehh__... mistress McGonagall?"__Tilly__ thought that this was the moment he should hand her __her__ possessions and disappear. McGonagall, who had her back towards him, spun around._

_"__Tilly__!" she cried out, "__don't__ startle me like that!"_

_"__Tilly__ is sorry, mistress McGonagall!" he said looking sad, "but he brought his mistress the items he has fetched for her!"_

_He held the bag out to her. She gave him a small smile and dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief from her pockets, taking the bag from his hands. _

_"Thank you, __Tilly__!" Could you please bring me some tea to my bedroom and light up the fire? I think__ I'll go to bed in a little while."_

_Tilly__ nodded and the professor left the room. The little elf hurried into McGonagall chambers. After he had done as he had been told, he left again, being sure that his mistress would call him when she needed something else. On his way back into the little chamber next to the kitchens where he slept, he was deeply lost in his own thoughts. The sight of his mistress in this kind of state had scared him. This __weak__, hurt and lost-looking woman bore no resemblance at all to the Minerva McGonagall he knew._

After this evening my mistress was again the strong, self-confident woman to whom I had been introduced in Dumbledore's office. The students came back from their winter vacation and were surprised, like everyone else, to hear that the board of governors had not only made my mistress the new head of Gryffindor house (had they thought for a moment, they would have noticed that she was the only Gryffindor on staff), but that Dumbledore had also suggested to the board that this young woman, who was new to Hogwarts and had never taught any students before, should become his deputy. There weren't many at the school and in England in general, who did approve of that idea and rumours were floating around that McGonagall got this early promotion only because she was sleeping with the headmaster. My mistress knew nothing of these rumours or at least pretended she didn't, and let me assure you they were as far from the truth as they could be at this time. McGonagall was in a relationship then, but had she told the world that she was in love with someone and had she told them who this special someone was, the uproar would have been even greater.

At first I didn't realise who this young woman was, who visited my mistress every weekend. I thought she was a friend or a family member, but then she came twice a week, sometimes staying overnight, and I started to think that there might be something else between these two.

_Tilly__ lay in his little bed in the chamber next to the kitchens wondering half-heartedly who this young woman was, with whom his mistress spent so much time. Yesterday she had come during dinnertime and this morning she was gone before dawn. He was almost sure that his mistress and this woman were an item, but he hadn't told anyone else for he knew what even the __rumour__ of being a lesbian would mean for the young teacher. The headmaster would find himself bombarded by owls form angry parents requesting the immediate resignation of Professor Minerva McGonagall._

_Tilly__ didn't care with whom she spent the night. Even if he did care, he would have to serve her anyway. She was kind to __him,__ even treated him like an equal, and that was all that mattered to him. He liked her. She had even invited him to have tea and some ginger newts with her, but he hadn't dared to say yes because it hadn't felt right to him. He was only her servant after all. _

_Tilly__ looked at the clock that hung above the doorframe. His mistress would be sleeping by now so he could go and clean her chambers. She had told him a few months ago that he could clean there overnight, even in the bedroom where she slept, when he was too busy to do so in the light of day. He snapped his fingers and disappeared only to appear again, seconds later, in McGonagall's living room. _

_Her rooms were always neat and tidy so it didn't take him long to clean not only the living room, but also her study and the bathroom. When he entered the bedroom, he jerked. His mistress was sleeping soundly in her bed as he had expected, but she was not alone. Cuddled next to her was the young woman about whom he had just been thinking. From what was exposed of them by the scarlet satin blankets, __Tilly__ could tell that they were nude, their cloths a muddled mess on the floor. The little elf smiled. He had known it! His mistress, he noticed, seemed to be happy, for her lips were curled in a blissful smile. _

_He was careful to make even less noise than he would have made usually during his work in the same room with the sleeping form of his mistress and then silently __Apparated__ back into his own chamber to sleep a bit before the turmoil of his fellow house-elves preparing breakfast in the next room began. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I've never mentioned to anyone what I had seen that night and my mistress said nothing to me either although she must have known I'd been there because she had found her bedroom tidy and their clothes hanging over the back of a chair the next morning. Somehow I have the distinct feeling she hadn't told anyone she was in love with a woman, nonetheless the headmaster knew and during a rainy day in the fall 1946 he made that clear.

_They had told __Tilly__ to cook dinner for them in Dumbledore's own little kitchen. They could have ordered Dumbledore's elf to do the same but McGonagall thought __Tilly's__ food tasted more delicious. __Tilly__ had been happy to receive such a compliment and immediately started to plan. __In the meanwhile McGonagall and Dumbledore were sitting in the living room, talking and playing a game of chess. Dumbledore had left the kitchen after collecting two cups of tea for them leaving the door standing open and although __Tilly__ could hear every word they said, he didn't really pay attention. He loved to cook and while working for McGonagall he could rarely spend time in a kitchen. His mistress had told him she wanted the lasagna "made the __muggle__ way" for it tasted much better. _

_He made extra loud noises knocking pots, bowls and knives together so he didn't hear their conversation. He made the pasta and the two sauces, shredded the cheese and put it all in the baking tin. And suddenly, after he had cleaned his working place, there was nothing left to do: The lasagna was in the oven, the salad finished and the kitchen so clean that one could eat from the floor. __Although __Tilly__ knew it was rude to eavesdrop and for a house-elf like him, strictly forbidden, he became curious when he heard Dumbledore say,_

_"Forgive me... but who is this young woman, who is almost living in my castle, Minerva?" there was a long silence in the living room and __Tilly__ imagined his mistress was as surprised as he was. _

_"A friend of mine", she answered._

_"_**A**_ friend?" and __Tilly__ could picture his raised eyebrow. _

_McGonagall sighed, "__fine__...she's my girlfriend. We are in love! Are you now going to fire me?" __Dumbledore chuckled, "My dear what makes you think I'd want to do something like that?" he asked. _

_"I don't know, maybe you should ask my mother?" _

_Tilly__ had moved closer to the door. From his new position he could see that McGonagall had her back towards the door while he had a clear view of Dumbledore, who was eyeing his opposite questioningly. _

_"She threw me out of her house when my sister told her that I'd been seeing a girl", she said bitterly. __Tilly__ shuddered involuntarily. "Three weeks before Christmas – the feast of love" she __added in a voice so full of sarcasm that __Tilly__ had to stop himself from crying out for her to stop. _

_"What's her name?" Dumbledore asked _

_"My mother's? Diana", McGonagall answered confused. _

_"No, your girlfriend's name!"__ Dumbledore said seriously. _

_"Oh! I'm sorry! It's __Ricarda__," she said with a smile. _

_"What is she like? What does she do? I guess, I shouldn't ask you so many questions" It's the job of your best friend, not __you__ boss..." _

_"__It's__ okay, __Albus__! Anyway, you are my best friend! Ricci is... she's amazing. Charming, humorous, smart... she's what I've always looked for but never found in men. I know she's not only looking for my money or the fame of the McGonagall family, because she's got enough of that herself with working for the ambassador of the USA and coming from one of their oldest pureblood families."_

_"Are you happy?"_

_"Yes", she answered and to __Tilly__ she sounded like she would burst into tears the next moment. __Apparently Dumbledore thought the same for he looked rather unconvinced. _

_"Somehow you don't look like someone who has just fallen in love with the most wonderful person, she's ever met," he said slowly. _

_Although __Tilly__ didn't see her face, he knew that McGonagall was crying by the husky sound of her reply, "__you__ know what my mother said to me? When she threw me out?" she sobbed, when Dumbledore shook his head. "She asked me how I could do this to her – deny her grandchildren when I already took my father and her second husband from her." _

_Dumbledore's face first turned with shock and then red with anger. __"She accused you of taking that ... person from her after all he's done to you?" _

_"Yes..." McGonagall whispered. "She blames me because I killed her __dear__ husband after he had raped me over and over again, from their wedding till my 17th birthday!" _

_Tilly__ stood there in the kitchen, petrified by what he'd just heard. How could someone do that to a person as wonderful as his mistress? __So shocked was he, that he didn't really hear when McGonagall said, "she blames me because of the curse..." _

_"Tell me about this curse, Minerva! Tell me about this curse and the prophecy, that you've mentioned when you came to fight against __Grindelwald__ but about which you've never spoken since then." _

_Dumbledore suddenly jumped out of his chair. At the word prophecy __Tilly__ had dropped the tin pot he had been holding and it had clattered loudly on the floor. He hurried to the table and pretended to be chopping tomatoes when Dumbledore appeared in the doorframe. The professor shot __Tilly__ a warning glare, which clearly said, "never tell anybody of what you just heard!" and shut the door firmly. The house-elf supposed he had also cast a silencing charm over their room because __Tilly__ could not hear even a single sound of what was spoken in the living room. _

I did as he had told me. Till today McGonagall, Dumbledore and I are the only ones, who know about the conversation I heard. I served them their dinner in silence, because they waited to speak until I had returned to my room and after their meal they washed the dishes themselves.For some weeks I avoided my mistress as much as possible, even when she tried to make conversation I said only the most necessary, hoping she'd never mention that evening again. She became once again the stern teacher and friendly mistress, always polite and always without any signs of emotions. She and Dumbledore grew – if possible – even closer than they were when she arrived at Hogwarts.


End file.
